Former Ghanaian football icon, Mohammed Ahmed Polo, has unveiled a lesser-known facet of his illustrious career, asserting that he played a significant role in boosting the popularity of Arab football prior to the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
Widely recognized as Mohammed Polo across the global football landscape, he graced the Emirati club Al Wasl from 1979 to 1984 and swiftly became a cherished figure among fans throughout the Gulf region.
In recent times, the Saudi Pro League has garnered substantial attention, welcoming esteemed players such as Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Sadio Mane to its ranks.
However, Polo challenges Ronaldo’s assertion that he solely catapulted Arab football into prominence. Polo affirms that he himself holds a considerable share of the limelight in the realm of Gulf football, even surpassing the recognition of the former Real Madrid luminary.
Disputing Ronaldo’s claims, he responded, “It’s not true,” when questioned about Ronaldo’s role in popularizing Arab football. Polo went on to express, “Ronaldo is a latter-day saint. This is his time. Before Ronaldo, we were there,” as he shared his perspective on Angel FM.
He continued to emphasize his unique impact on Arab football, elaborating, “I mean, even though slavery started in the Arab world and it was not common for an Arab to carry a black person, they made an exception for me because of football. They simply couldn’t resist. Remarkably, this occurred at the twilight of my career.”
Polo’s legacy in Ghana is etched in stone, primarily due to his instrumental role in securing victory for the Black Stars during the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations.
Throughout his storied journey, he graced the ranks of esteemed Ghanaian clubs, including Hearts of Oak and Great Olympics, fostering an enduring career that spanned over two decades, as meticulously documented by Transfermarkt.
